The present invention relates in general to a mineral mining installation and more particularly to a mineral or coal winning plough.
As is known, coal ploughs are machines which are supported on a guide usually on a scraper-chain conveyor, in a mine working and which are slidably moved along the guide to strip coal from a coal face by means of cutting tools. In one form of plough two separate bodies, each carrying cutters, are mounted directly on the guide and are interconnected to move together so that coal is stripped from the face in both directions of movement of the plough along the face. In such ploughs it is common for coal to be detached by the cutters on the leading body relative to the direction of movement of the plough and for this coal to be loaded into the conveyor with the aid of the lagging body. Difficulties often occur when coal accumulates in the space between the bodies and becomes jammed. Because of this problem there is a limitation on the amount of coal removed at each pass of the plough.
It is also known to control the plough with the aid of floor cutters and it is often difficult to maintain a desired setting or to adjust such cutters. One form of floor cutter adjustment which has been generally successful involves the use of an arcuate guideway, T-shaped in cross-section and extending generally parallel to the coal face which receives a carrier to which the floor cutter is fixed. (See for example German Pat. No. 1300889). The carrier can move along the guideway and can be secured by a stop pin to adjust the height of the floor cutter. Such devices have proved robust and reliable but hitherto they have only been successful with ploughs employing a sword plate extending beneath the conveyor and engaging with a guide and a drive chain on the side of the conveyor remote from the coal face. In the case of swordless ploughs which engage directly on a guide at the coal face side the provision of floor cutter control devices of the type mentioned has not been a practical proposition chiefly because of limitations on space.
A general object of this invention is to provide an improved form of coal plough.